Endless film projector



Dec. 6, 1955 R. E. JONES, SR

ENDLESS FILM PROJECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26, 1950 Roy E Janes; 5r.

IN V EN TOR.

Dec. 6, 1955 R. E. JONES, SR

ENDLESS FILM PROJECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1950 N\ am wm 9m MW R Q Y B 2 1,715,587 ENDLESS "FILM PROJECTOR Roy, Jones, SrQMiami, as signor to CaB-O-Mat,

Inc., Miami, Fla., a corporation of Florida Application nec'ember'zs, 1950;"sein1 No. 202,626 '2 Claims. ci."ss' 2s This invention relates to new and useful, improvements and structural refinements display apparatus,

and the principal object of the 'inventio n is to provide auapparatus' of the character herein described, wherein display indicia are projected on a screen in a continuous repeating fashion, either in: thefform of a series of pictures, or a series of letters arranged in successive, readable formation to convey a message, or a combination of pictures and letters, as desired.

in particular, the invention concerns itself with the provision of a relatively small, "self-contained display I unit which may beconveniently installed in conveyances such as taxicabs, or the like, for the 'ing the attention of passengers.

purpose of attract- Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of'constnuction, in its efficient and dependable come apparentasthis specification proceeds, theflinvention consists essentially offthe arrangement and 'construction of parts" as' illustrat ed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention, the housing of the apparatus being open so as to reveal the mechanism therein;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the subject shown in Figure l, the cover of the housing being illustrated in cross section;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 33 in Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of the optical system or the invention.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of a display apparatus which is designated generally by the reference character and embodies in its construction a box-shaped, relatively flat housing 12 including a hinged cover 14, the hinge of the cover being illustrated at 16 and it being apparent that the cover is provided with a catch 18 for coaction with a lock 20 on the housing 12, whereby the cover may be sustained in a closed position.

An elongated projection screen 22 of translucent material is suitably mounted in one of the side walls of the housing 12, and the housing may also be formed with a struck-in portion to aiford a ventilating slot 24 for dissipation of heat from the mechanism within the casing, as will be presently described.

This mechanism embodies a suitable electric lamp 26 mounted in a socket 28 on a base plate 30 secured to the bottom of the housing 12, this socket (28) being electrically connected in parallel to an electric motor 32 which the base plate 30 also carries. By virtue of this nited States PateritiOfiice Patented Dec. 6, 1955 electrlical jconnectionithefrnotor and the lamp are eners rand dg hc sized s mu a e u The lamp 26 is optically aligned with an optical system including a set o ffcondenser lenses 34 and a set of projectionlenses 36,; the setsof lenses 34, 36 being suitably 'nounted in conventional cases 38, 40, respectively,

44, respectively, 5 to the base p late 3Q.. 'I:o facilitate focusing, the cases 9, 3 9 a li hly lon tu in n t brackets e s in. su e jsfit and is capable of deflecting the light rays which are projected from the lamp 26 are supported in upstanding brackets 42, ona connecting plate 46 whichis secured which, in turn,

respectively, but rnay be loc ked in predetermined posistsws. 48- o The lens 34, 36 are in optical alignment with an elonsated eu rlr .s s sedt eflec htth r 0 which is mounted by a suitable bracket 52 on the base plate 30 through the lens 34, 36 on the screen 22, that lS, O D the inner surface of the screen. However, since the screen is translucent, the projected Qare carried by an en dless band 'j 64, 66, pa, 70, 7 2, 74, 76

light isvis iblefrom the exterior of the housing, as will The indicia which are to be projected and displayed I of film 54 which passes through the 'optical system between the sets of lens 34, 36 and engagesa series of guide rollers 56, 58, 60, 62, and 78. These rollers are rotatably mounted on suitable shafts or pins 80 supt, ported. by the base'plate 3tl, and as is best shown in Figures 1 and 2, the seyeral rollers are'so arranged that the film travels a tortuous pathand, therefore, a film h n id f? 1=l n m y be e o pins 80 of the several wh t n ha heak ai t h r l ersh o d 9 .1 he as Pl te i i true with the enception' of the pin 82 of" the roller which is carriedby an arm 84, pivotally attached to the base plate An endless elastic band 88 "extends between the pin 82 and the pin of the roller 66, thereby urging the arm 84 in the direction of the arrow (see Figure 2) and sustaining the band of film 54 under tension to prevent slack.

The film 54 is driven by means of the aforementioned motor 32 which is operatively connected by suitable gearing 92 to the roller 78, the latter assuming the form of a cog wheel having sets of teeth 94 for driving reception in the usual apertures 96 with which the longitudinal edges of the film 54 are commonly provided.

When the invention is placed in operation, the lamp 26 is energized and the motor 32 is energized simultaneously therewith, thus causing the endless band of film 54 to travel around the various rollers and to pass through the optical system between the sets of lenses 34, 36. Light rays emanating from the lamp 26 through the lenses 34 will project images of the indicia on the film through the lenses 36 and by means of the reflector 50 on the screen 22 for display purposes. In the preferred form of the invention, the film 54 is provided with indicia assuming the form of a series of letters arranged in readable formation for successive projection on the screen so as to form a continuously moving message which may be read by an observer as it progressively appears on the right-hand side of the screen and travels longitudinally to disappear at the left-hand side. However, other forms of indicia may, of course, be employed.

14, so as to assure deenergized when the cover 14 is opened for purposes of inspection or replacement of the film 54.

It is to be noted that the entire mechanism within the housing 12 is mounted on and carried by the base plate 30 which is removably positionedin the housing and, together with the mechanism thereon, may be readily removed when the cover 14 is opened.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, new is:

1. A display apparatus comprising an elongated flat housing having side and end walls, one of said side walls having a viewing opening therein, a reflector panel mounted within said housing at an angle to said viewing opening, a source of light within said housing mounted adjacent one end thereof, a condenser lens, and a projection lens spaced from one another in alignment with said source of light and said reflector panel to reflect light through said opening, a plurality of reels within said housing and including a driving reel adapted to drive an endless band of film around said reels and between the lenses to project the images on the film through the viewing opening, and a shield within the housing between the reflector panel and the projection lens, said what is claimed as shield having an aperture therethrough in alignment with said projection lens to permit the passage of light to said reflector panel, one of said reels being swingably mounted within said housing and resiliently urged in one direction to tension a band of film entrained over the reels, electrical means for actuating said driving reel, a hinged cover on said housing, a fixed contact on said housing and a movable contact on said cover for said electrical means to .render the drive reel inoperative upon raising the cover.

2. A display apparatus comprising an elongated flat housing having side and end walls, one of said side walls having a viewing opening therein, a reflector panel mounted within said housing at an angle to said viewing opening, a source of light within said housing mounted adjacent one end thereof, a condenser lens, and a projection lens spaced from one another in alignment with said source of light and said reflector panel to reflect light through said opening, a plurality of reels within said housing and including a driving reel adapted to drive an endless band of film around said reels and between the lenses to project the images on the film through the viewing opening, and a shield within the housing between the reflector panel and the projection lens, said shield having an aperture therethrough in alignment with said projection lens to permit the passage of light to said reflector panel, means connected to one of said reels to tension a band of film entrained over the reels, electrical means for actuating said driving reel, a removable cover on said housing, a fixed contact on said housing and a movable contact on said cover for said electrical means to render the drive spool inoperative upon raising the cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,290,947 Erskine Jan. 14, 1919 1,756,980 Joy May 6, 1930 1,792,971 Fawell Feb. 17, 1931 1,816,899 Godel Aug. 4, 1931 1,886,144 Zeledon Nov. 1, 1932 1,943,533 Hubschmann Jan. 16, 1934 1,987,710 Robbins Jan. 15, 1935 2,015,937 Holsman Oct. 1, 1935 2,025,361 Silling Dec. 24, 1935 2,033,478 Martinez Mar. 10, 1936 2,516,979 Gould et al Aug. 1, 1950 

